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On April 17, Easter Sunday, the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce hosted its 27th annual Easter parade.

Led by the Easter Bunny, dozens of children, parents and community members marched through the village streets. Starting from Theatre Three on Main Street, the parade route cut through East Main, and finally ended at the Port Jefferson Village Center. 

The event was concluded by a massive egg hunt in Harborfront Park, where participants scaled fences and sprinted long distances in pursuit of the precious hidden eggs.

By Heidi Sutton

Looking for something fun to do with the kids during Spring Break? May I recommend the most adorablest show around, Theatre Three’s The Adventures of Peter Rabbit, a tale based on the characters and stories created by Beatrix Potter. As a child, Beatrix and her brother were homeschooled and kept sheltered from other children. She turned to her pets, especially her two rabbits — Benjamin Bouncer and Peter Piper — who served as inspiration for her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. 

Now the stories of Flopsy, Mopsy, CottonTail, Peter and Mrs. Rabbit come to life on Theatre Three’s stage in the form of a musical written by Jeffrey Sanzel and the late Brent Erlanson, with musical arrangements by Kevin F. Story. 

The story follows the antics of the mischievous Peter Rabbit and his cousin Benjamin Bunny who have an insatiable appetite for carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, parsley, cucumbers and string beans. Where can they find such a cornucopia? In their neighbor Mr. McGregor’s garden, of course! 

But taking without asking is not very nice and one too many trips to the garden patch gets Peter caught by the farmer. Will he end up as rabbit stew or will the McGregors and the Rabbits come to a compromise?

Directed by Sanzel, the incredible cast of eight adult actors present a high-energy, fast-paced show that keep children at the edge of their seats with audience participation as the cast walk or run up and down the aisles.

This year’s production has stepped it up several notches with so many special little details including adorable new costumes and wigs by Jason Allyn, colorful lighting along the walls of the theater and fresh choreography. The bunnies even sport new ears and a tail!

The show uses the set from the theater’s Mainstage production, Steel Magnolias, for the rabbit house and quickly transform it into the McGregor’s garden with a fence, bushes and trees. 

The most special part of the production is the musical numbers. From the catchy duet “One More Time Around” with Peter and Benjamin to the hip hop number “Peter’s Socks,” the songs are heart of the show. The final number incorporates all of the songs in a super mega-mix extravaganza.

This wonderful spring production is guaranteed to keep both kids and parents entertained. Don’t miss it.

Souvenir bunnies in spring colors will be sold before the show and during intermission for $5 (proceeds will help maintain the historic building) and the entire cast will be in the lobby for photos after the show.

Sponsored by Furnari Exit Realty, Theatre Three, 412 Main St., Port Jefferson presents The Adventures of Peter Rabbit on April 21, 22, 23, 30 and May 7 at 11 a.m. with a special sensory sensitive performance on April 24 at 11 a.m. Children’s theater continues with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs from May 28 to June 18, and Puss-In-Boots from July 8 to 30. All seats are $10. To order, call 631-928-9100 or visit www.theatrethree.com.

The Port Jefferson Royals, fresh off their hard-fought victory over Mattituck three days earlier, hit a roadblock in their matchup against Islip High School on April 14. 

The Buccaneers had led by seven goals at halftime. Unable to close the gap, the Royals fell 14-5. Port Jeff senior Stephen Bayer had a hat trick, leading the Royals in scoring. Seniors Kyle Scandale and Michael Scannell both scored one goal as well.

The loss drops the Royals to 4-3 in league and 6-3 overall.

 

Photos by Bill Landon 

It was a battle of the unbeaten Tuesday, April 19, when the Panthers of Miller Place, 5-0, hosted East Hampton, 9-0, in a league VI matchup.

In dominant fashion, the Miller Place pitching staff put on a shutout performance. Starting pitcher Jason Strickland had four complete innings for the win and Tyler Hodella picked up the save in a 6-0 Panther victory.

Despite their winning streak, there will be no rest for Miller Place this week as they have games scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. 

Photos by Bill Landon 

This year’s spring coloring contest winner is Julia S.

Happy Spring! Thanks to all the children who entered this year’s TBR News Media Spring Coloring Contest! We had wonderful submissions, making for some stiff competition. 

Congratulations to Julia S. of Setauket for being this year’s winner! The 6-year-old won four tickets to Theatre Three’s The Adventures of Peter Rabbit, just in time for Spring Break.

Special thanks to Theatre Three for sponsoring our contest! See all the other entries online at www.tbrnewsmedia.com.

On March 30, 500 students and family members attended the Multi-Industry Career Exploration Fair at Ward Melville High School.

The event was organized by the Three Village Industry Advisory Board with tremendous ongoing support of Alan Baum, Three Village school district executive director for Human Resources and Secondary Curriculum, who along with 3V-IAB oversees the development and implementation of our programs.

As chair of 3V-IAB, I was thrilled to see a terrific turnout.

After the event, Ilene Littman, 3V-IAB co-chair and Ward Melville High School business teacher, and I were pleased to receive positive feedback from many who participated.

The advisory board has hosted the event for students in grades 7 through 12 for four consecutive years. After being held virtually last year, it was satisfying to see the career fair continue and take place in person, providing plenty of opportunities for students to interact with more than 80 businesses and organizations from various industries.

Superintendent Cheryl Pedisich called it a “valuable partnership” for students and community members.

“It was evident that this was a tremendous undertaking involving hours of time and effort,” she said. “However, what was most clear was the enthusiasm and passion that the two of you and your student leaders exemplified in executing the program.” 

The number of students who helped organize the event this year was impressive. The committee members and I appreciate the volunteers from Student Government, DECA and the Robotics Department, as well as members of the Business, Family and Consumer Science, and Guidance departments. They played a big part in the career fair’s success.

Kevin Scanlon, assistant superintendent for educational services, said it best after the fair: “The students’ organizational abilities rivaled any Fortune 500 company.”

One of the young people involved was 3V-IAB student liaison Savanna Pineros who said she felt this year’s career fair was a success.

“Many students were able to meet with a diverse array of businesses, representing a wide variety of fields,” she said. “Students were able to ask many questions and explore several career opportunities in a unique way.”

Grace Smrek, 3V-IAB student president for 2021-22, said, “Walking around this event, I could see our community coming together to support the students in discovering potential career paths. As the student president of this board, I am honored to have been a part of the most successful career fair yet.” 

Incoming 3V-IAB student president Justin Moore noted that this year’s career exploration fair “doubled any other career fair in the past, making it the largest one yet.” 

Since its inception, the 3V-IAB mission is to prepare teenagers for the careers of the future. Career exploration fairs have featured businesses from fields such as technology, finance, engineering, health care, hospitality, government and more. The advisory board feels it’s essential to educate students on all the opportunities available to them to prepare for their futures.

“By bringing together a wide spectrum of industries, we showed the innovators of tomorrow all of the varied opportunities that are possible for them,” said Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn.

Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich said, “I appreciate so many local professionals taking the time to help demonstrate the wide variety of options available to our students.”

One of those professionals, Vinny Menten, manager of Gabrielli Truck Sales and 3V-IAB board member, said the career exploration fair is “a huge value to students who are trying to make their way through life and gain the information necessary to make a good personal decision.”

Stan Abrahamsen, Chick-fil-A franchisee, said, “My two GMs really enjoyed all the interaction with the students as well as parents.”

I’m looking forward to the next 3V-IAB event, Money Talks, to be held May 25 during the school day. Colette Frey-Bitzas, director of financial planning for PPS Advisors, and Nicole Sarno, Webster Bank business managing director, will be heading up the presentation and interactive conversation with the students.

Frey-Bitzas describes Money Talks as the “secrets of success.” It’s not so much what you make but what you save.

“‘Save’ means so much more than what is put in the bank,” she said. “It’s understanding taxes and best places to put your money, so it works for you.”

There will be more to come next school year, and the board is looking forward to these events and planning them with the students. 

Michael Ardolino is the founder/owner-broker of Realty Connect USA.

Newfield’s bats barked early, scoring four runs in the first inning to open the first of a three-game series at Huntington High School in a League III match-up April 18.

The Wolverines were able to keep the Blue Devils at bay stretching their lead to 9-1 after four innings to win the game, 14-1.

Logan Prisco got the win pitching four innings with 10 strikeouts. Joe Hackal went 3-4 from the plate with three RBIs as Stephen Lumme also went 3-4 with two RBIs.

The win lifts Newfield to 6-4 in league, while the loss drops the Blue Devils to 0-6.

At the April 12th general meeting of the Suffolk County Legislature, Legislator Stephanie Bontempi (Centerport) sponsored legislation that secured much-needed funding for critical repairs and improvements at the historic Vanderbilt Mansion, Museum and Planetarium.

“We are so lucky to have this cultural and educational resource in Suffolk County.  The Vanderbilt is frequented by countless schoolchildren each year and tourists of all ages from near and far.  Keeping up with the maintenance ensures that we can continue to deliver its wonderful programs, while simultaneously avoiding greater costs down the road,” said Bontempi.

Soon after being elected, Bontempi learned of the specific needs of the facility when she met on site with its executive director, Elizabeth Wayland-Morgan.  Although the grounds were an impressive sight to behold, it was clear that its components were showing their age. The funding, sponsored by Bontempi, addresses new seating, carpeting and kiosks at the planetarium, improvements to thwart water intrusion affecting numerous buildings, and a new boiler for the mansion.

“Like many tourist attractions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vanderbilt felt the economic pinch,” said Bontempi. “These improvements will play an important role in the museum’s recovery and future.”

To learn more about the Vanderbilt Mansion, Museum and Planetarium, please visit its website at: https://www.vanderbiltmuseum.org/.

Benner’s Farm in East Setauket continued its egg hunt tradition during the spring holidays, and for the second year in a row, created a socially-distanced event. 

On April 16 and 17, families arrived to the farm at their designated time slots to enjoy the egg hunt, take photos with the Easter Bunny, visit with the farm’s animals and check out merchandise from local vendors.

By Bill Landon

The Port Jefferson Steeplefest invitational took place on Saturday, April 9, at the Earl L. Vandermeulen High School, attracting schools from all over Suffolk County. 

Mt. Sinai senior Kate Del Gandio won the girls 100-meter hurdle event with a time of 14.68. Senior Hugo Onghai placed first for Port Jeff in the boys 100-meter hurdles, clocking in at 16.36. In the 2000-meter steeplechase Frosh finals, Shoreham-Wading River’s Anna Minetti finished first with a time of 8:20.82. In the Frosh boys Steeplechase, Patrick Shea of Shoreham-Wading River clocked in at 7:07.36. Del Gandio also placed first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.56. Mt. Sinai senior Kyra Franks took the top spot in the 200-meter dash event, besting the field with a 26.09. Port Jeff senior Annie Maier took top honors in the long jump event by traveling 15-11.50. Mt. Sinai’s Kelly Hughes and Casey Campo placed second and third respectively. Julia Sue-Kim-Ling of Smithtown East proved she was the class of the field in the triple jump when she leapt 34-5.25. Kings Park senior Emily Stritzl also placed first in the pole-vault event, clearing 8-0.

 Photos by Bill Landon